Giants fall apart in 10-2 loss to Orioles

Tough to beat a lethal combination of power and defense, and the Giants know it all too well.

The Orioles, among the many strong teams in the AL East, lead the majors with the most homers and the fewest errors, and they gave a glimpse of it on a lovely Sunday afternoon at China Basin.

Matt Cain had another solid start and retired 15 of his first 16 batters, but the Orioles eventually got to him and the bullpen – including Barry Zito – to whip the Giants 10-2 and win the weekend interleague series.

The Giants scored twice in the first inning off Novato’s Bud Norris and then shut down their offense.

Here’s what Brandon Crawford said after the game:

“I know personally sometimes I try to put too much pressure on myself. We’re struggling to get runs, and you get that run-scoring opportunity and you want to be the guy to drive them in instead of being patient and sticking to your approach like you’ve done your whole career.”

And . . .

“We score two runs early and then kind of sit on that two-run lead like that’s all we need. A lot of times with our pitchers, it is. But we’ve got to pile on.”

In the sixth inning, Cain surrendered his second hit, a leadoff triple by Brian Roberts, who scored on Nate McLouth’s single. Later in the inning, with two runners aboard and two outs, Cain struck out Adam Jones on a 73-mph curve, keeping the Giants ahead 2-1.

But in the seventh, the Orioles took the lead. Chris Davis doubled to center, and J.J. Hardy smacked a two-run homer to left. Cain was pulled, and the afternoon took a drastic turn for the worse for Giants fans, many of whom bolted before the game’s final pitch. The Orioles scored four runs in the eighth, three charged to Jose Mijares.

“The offense is sputtering,” Bruce Bochy said. “What’s encouraging is our starters are doing a real nice job, going out there and giving us quality starts. Overall, the pen’s done a pretty good job. We’re not doing a lot offensively.. . . We’ve got too many guys cold with the bats right now.”

Zito worked the ninth and coughed up a three-run homer to Adam Jones. It was Zito’s second relief appearance since his exit from the rotation and eighth in his career. His time in the bullpen hasn’t been stellar – 10 earned runs in eight innings.

“It’s new to him, coming out to the bullpen,” Bochy said. “I’m trying to keep him sharp. The first two haven’t gone well. It’s not easy for him. He’s a starter, and that’s what he wants to do. We’re in a box right now where we’ve got five guys throwing well, so he’s a guy who’s going to help us down there and hopefully learns from each outing and gets better.”

Before the All-Star break, Cain had a 5.06 ERA. After, it’s 2.12. The break allowed him nine days’ rest, and he has responded by surrendering eight earned runs in 34 innings. Yet he’s merely 2-2.

With Hardy’s and Jones’ homers, the Orioles have 156 on the season.

They have committed 34 errors, and they’re on pace to shatter the 162-game record of 65, set by the 2003 Mariners.

They were error-free and made several fancy defensive plays. Jones made a running, backhanded catch of Crawford’s drive in left-center, and Hardy sprinted from shortstop to the Giants’ bullpen to catch Brandon Belt’s popup.

The Giants had seven hits, four after the first inning, and Bochy said, “It’s hard to keep that line moving when it stops.”